James Rodriguez

Explain.

The single word carried.

Dangerous.

Undercurrents.

I provided the sequence chronologically without embellishment.

David's death from fungal toxin contact Thomas pursuing his brother's apparition to a fatal fall.

Otsuicide after hallucinating his dead translator.

Robert's death at the Stone Circle.

Sarah's run into the hidden sinkhole.

Wilson listened without interruption.

When I finished, the silence stretched to 17 seconds.

So, you're telling me, he finally said each word precisely measured, that my $50 million expedition failed because the island showed people ghost stories.

The island manifested traumatic memories, specifically deceased individuals for whom team members carried unresolved guilt.

All shit.

The veneer of control slipped.

You experienced mass hallucinations from environmental toxins.

David identified fungal specimens with psychoactive properties.

That explains everything.

It doesn't explain the Fritter tribe's complete disappearance or why local populations refuse to approach the island or why.

Five rational people with military and scientific training all experienced identical phenomena.